We're Workin' on a Building!

There's a great old gospel song the Carter family of Southwest Virginia made famous in the 1930s. It's called "I'm Workin' on a Building." Click on the link to listen: it's pure Appalachian singing at its best!

Well, at WPC we're workin' on a building too! Today's activity has been absolutely nothing short of humbling and exhilariting at the same time! People are making a point to walk to the church to see the walls go up! I talked with a couple from Oregon who are driving through on their way to DC. They stopped by the church to see the building because they heard people at Joe's Steakhouse talk about the building progress! They said, "We don't have church building projects like this where we live. You're doing something quite unusual!" They also loved that we're recycling so much of the materials.

That's part of the fun of it, and the blessing, too. We are being used by God to witness to the power of faith in undertaking this monumental project "in this economy" (you know how I feel about that phrase when it comes to God's will...God wills what God wills, and God will accomplish what God wills!).

This blog is part of the fun, too, and I hope, the blessing. I received a comment on the last blog entry from a gentleman in California who congratulated the church on this project. He is now a "follower" of the blog and he had this to say:

          Hello! 1st-time visitor to your excellent blog. Fascinated with your account of structural updating and restoring. My own experience is limited to repairing a 1906 townhouse and selling it 30 years ago to attack a 1940s farmhouse, in which we still live. Nothing compared to modernizing an antebellum church but enough to recognize restoration becomes a way of life. Most intrigued by your photographic and text account of this project because, well, I'm a guy. And I look forward to learning what happens next. My compliments to you, Reverend Webb, and your industrious congregation.

Isn't it wonderful what God is doing through us?! Now if I could only figure out how to add a donation offering plate to the blog....

Enjoy the pics from today's thrilling activity! And continue to pray for the workers' safety! Why not stop by yourself and thank them for the excellent work?!



To set the tone, this is what yesterday afternoon's activity looked like.



Another from yesterday...

Again, yesterday....this is the bathroom "ceiling."

Church office on left, entryway in center, conference room on right.

My space! With a wonderful window!

It looks bigger already! (LOL)

Church office with big window!

View from the alley



Cindy keeping what's left of the grounds looking neat and tidy.
(Note to self: next time, use the flash!)



Church office

Lovin' the natural light from big windows!

 

Working in my space - woo hoo!

Nothing like working at the height of angels!

Drive through communion....what do you think?

Beautiful clouds frame the framing!

How Dark Is Dark?

I'm in my office. Outside a storm rages. Rain. Thunder. Lightening. Dark angry clouds. It's a Snoopy kind of night.

Thing is, I can't see any of the storm blowing around outdoors. For today my office windows were covered in sheets of dense plaster, the first stage of my pastoral domain (otherwise known as the pastor's hangout) being converted to one of our "new" libraries.

I don't mind telling you, it's kind of strange to be "in the dark" in such a dramatic way. All joking aside (you know who you are who will take stabs at me being "in the dark" on a regular basis....),  when I opened the door to my office this evening I was struck by the lack of natural light. Kind of the way I've been struck by the heat and humidity when I open the house door in the mornings. It hit me, and there's a significant part of me that's mourning my loss of natural light until I see it again in my new office....you know, the little one that's about the size of a confessional. (I've been assured, by the way, that it will feel much bigger once it's completed.)

Jesus tells us in John 8, "I am the light of the world...whoever follows me will have the light of life." Each week in worship we pray for those who live in darkness: those whose lives are burdened with hardship and sin and forces beyond their control. Life is tough! And following Jesus is not always easy! When I was very young I sang an old song about the walk of faith that is strewn with sweet smelling rose petals. I don't know about you, but more often than not, my walk of faith has been strewn with banana peels. The kind that make you slip, that make you realize you're not as sure-footed as you thought you were in life.

"I am the light of the world." Such good news for a dark and stormy night.

What's that? No thunder, no rain. I think the storm is over. Time to take a peek outdoors. That means I have to get up.

The Storm is over, but what a beautiful sky God has left for us to enjoy!

Here are a few pics from today's activity with the Building Project.

Members of the Facilities Team talking about tile color for the Fellowship Hall.

Malinda Johnston, Vicky Germroth, Susan Garman, Pat Thomas and Ray Powell

The light in my office begins to fade...

Still more light fading, as sheets of plaster are hung.

The last glimpse of natural light......

These guys are smiling, apparently happy that I will no longer be able to take pics from my office window.

The natural light is gone.
Thank goodness for the light of Jesus Christ, who is Light himself!